Diebenkorn is known for large-scale luminous abstractions devoted to the delicate balance between surface modulation and illusionistic depth; the establishment of structure and its dissolution in light and space. He grew up in San Francisco, studied at Stanford University, served in the Marines in WWII, and taught at the California School of Fine Arts and UCLA. From 1966 to 1988 he painted at his Ocean Park studio in Santa Monica.
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Berkeley No. 8, 1954 Oil on canvas, 69 1/8 x 59 1/8 in. (176 x 150 cm) Richard Diebenkorn's paintings have been rightly described as "abstract landscapes." A case in point is Berkeley No. 8, which belongs to a series executed while the artist was living across the bay from San Francisco. As with all of the artist’s best work, it is a summary of his quickened perceptions of color and space. Rather than plan, Diebenkorn improvises the picture, discovering its image through trial and error. The composition itself is built of blocks of color, reportedly inspired by aerial views of the American Southwest. Diagonals cleave and fracture the horizontal elements of the design. Most remarkable is the quality of light, a synthesis of the parched colors of New Mexico and the soft, marine radiance of the Pacific coast. |
| Ocean Park #124 | Ochre | Berkeley | Cigarette Butts | Spade Group | Seated Figure | Reclining Figure |
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